I have only received a couple of journals, and marks are going to be printed out today after 3:30, so I hope none of you plan to be late or finish after the last minute. You've all done well and I hope you learned something over the course of the semester.
Enjoy your summer. If it is raining, then read a book or make something cool or start a journal! (I've written in a journal since I was about 8 years old. It's fun to read the old ones and see what crazy thing I was worrying about when I was younger.) If it's sunny, you could do the same thing, or you could go outside and take a walk or write a poem or paint a picture or watch a bird or an insect going about its business. The world is a wonderful place, if only we would really see it!
Monday 24 June 2013
Thursday 20 June 2013
SYIS (What might that mean?)
See you in September!
I will try my best to post your marks by tomorrow. If you think I've made a mistake, let me know and I will check things out. You may still hand in your journals until Monday morning, but then they will be printing out report cards, so there will be no going back.
It's been a great pleasure for me to be able to teach you this term and I hope you all have a great summer. Make sure you get outside (even on rainy days) and enjoy the long lazy days! Then you'll be rejuvenated for September!
And a sad goodbye to all the grade 12's who, for the first time in twelve years, don't really know what September will bring. You're embarking on a great adventure and I wish you all the very best in everything you do!
I will try my best to post your marks by tomorrow. If you think I've made a mistake, let me know and I will check things out. You may still hand in your journals until Monday morning, but then they will be printing out report cards, so there will be no going back.
It's been a great pleasure for me to be able to teach you this term and I hope you all have a great summer. Make sure you get outside (even on rainy days) and enjoy the long lazy days! Then you'll be rejuvenated for September!
And a sad goodbye to all the grade 12's who, for the first time in twelve years, don't really know what September will bring. You're embarking on a great adventure and I wish you all the very best in everything you do!
Tuesday 18 June 2013
Sharkfest tomorrow!
Well done on the Aesop plays today! I was really pleased with how well you presented your scripts. Tomorrow our class will only be 50 minutes long -- we will have some time to look at annuals and get your classmates to sign them. If we have time, we might do a bit of improv as well.
Your last journal topic is to choose one of the lessons from the Aesop stories (not necessarily the ones you performed) and write about how you have learned (or need to learn) the lesson it teaches. I will be here until the end of June marking and supervising exams and preparing report cards, so if you get your journal to me by Monday of next week, that's great.
Your last journal topic is to choose one of the lessons from the Aesop stories (not necessarily the ones you performed) and write about how you have learned (or need to learn) the lesson it teaches. I will be here until the end of June marking and supervising exams and preparing report cards, so if you get your journal to me by Monday of next week, that's great.
Thursday 13 June 2013
Extended Role Play in Room 600 and the Rotunda-C and D Blocks
Think about how to play your character as a real person and not just as a joke. Try to internalize the things on your slip of paper. Think of what you would act like if you were living under the circumstances your character is. Don't wear your character on your sleeve -- you probably all have aspects of your personality that you keep to yourself -- think of what you share with others and what you don't.
This morning we will read our character slips to the class and then begin the activity. Please try to treat the teacher with respect. It isn't any fun if it descends into chaos.
There should be some time for you to work on your performances for Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Aesop's Fables scenes:
You must memorize your lines.
You must try to create a clear character. If you are playing an animal, you need an animal voice and a way of moving that evokes the animal. If you are a human, do the same thing but create a personality for the character.
You need a framework through which you perform your two stories. Try to connect the framework to the stories.
Use the stories to think of motivation and blocking for your character.
Show what you've learned. Use tableaus, mimes, music, light and choral speaking in your plays.
Make your moral memorable.
Think of something your group can wear that makes you look like a group (but not particular costumes for each animal).
On stage, project your voice and speak clearly. Listen to the other actors -- their dialogue will help you remember your lines.
You must memorize your lines.
You must try to create a clear character. If you are playing an animal, you need an animal voice and a way of moving that evokes the animal. If you are a human, do the same thing but create a personality for the character.
You need a framework through which you perform your two stories. Try to connect the framework to the stories.
Use the stories to think of motivation and blocking for your character.
Show what you've learned. Use tableaus, mimes, music, light and choral speaking in your plays.
Make your moral memorable.
Think of something your group can wear that makes you look like a group (but not particular costumes for each animal).
On stage, project your voice and speak clearly. Listen to the other actors -- their dialogue will help you remember your lines.
Tuesday 11 June 2013
Grade 8's: Your last journal topic of the term is: Which one of the morals from the Aesop's stories is a lesson that is significant to you? (It doesn't have to be a story you've chosen to act out.) Explain why.
Take your scripts home and read your lines out loud. Then you will have memorized them before you know it. It might seem like a big challenge to learn lines, but it isn't. You are all more than capable of committing far more material to memory than you think. And it's great exercise for your brain! Think of the Greek poet, Homer, who used to recite "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" from memory. Or Shakespearean actors, who performed plays in repertoire -- one day they'd perform "Hamlet" and the next day "As You Like It". An actor like Richard Burbage (one of Shakespeare's most well-loved performers) would have been playing leads in several plays at once.
Grade 9's and 10's: You need to knuckle down to rehearsal in the next two days as you will have to perform on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Theatre Production: Your sound and light shows and props are due then, as well.
Take your scripts home and read your lines out loud. Then you will have memorized them before you know it. It might seem like a big challenge to learn lines, but it isn't. You are all more than capable of committing far more material to memory than you think. And it's great exercise for your brain! Think of the Greek poet, Homer, who used to recite "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" from memory. Or Shakespearean actors, who performed plays in repertoire -- one day they'd perform "Hamlet" and the next day "As You Like It". An actor like Richard Burbage (one of Shakespeare's most well-loved performers) would have been playing leads in several plays at once.
Grade 9's and 10's: You need to knuckle down to rehearsal in the next two days as you will have to perform on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Theatre Production: Your sound and light shows and props are due then, as well.
Saturday 8 June 2013
No journals this week. Grade 8's, yours will be about the Aesop's Fables stories we're going to begin reading on Monday. Grade 9's and 10's and Theatre Production students, you need to finish your journals from last week.
The graduation day today makes me think about how quickly your time in high school flies by. Even if it's a struggle, it will be over in the blink of an eye. Try to enjoy something every day. Don't think too much about what other people think of you. Who cares? Try to think about things you have to offer. It might not seem like it, but people who are genuinely kind and nice to other people do win out in the long run, because they're not carrying all that mean baggage around with them. I think the things that have helped me over the years are my love of reading and of the natural world. Those things will always be there for you, even if people disappoint you or hurt you.
Last night, "The Maltese Falcon" was on. What a great movie! It's so grown up and sophisticated and film noire. I love the scenes with Mary Astor and Humphrey Bogart trying to outwit each other and Peter Lorie is always so enjoyable to watch.
See you all on Monday.
The graduation day today makes me think about how quickly your time in high school flies by. Even if it's a struggle, it will be over in the blink of an eye. Try to enjoy something every day. Don't think too much about what other people think of you. Who cares? Try to think about things you have to offer. It might not seem like it, but people who are genuinely kind and nice to other people do win out in the long run, because they're not carrying all that mean baggage around with them. I think the things that have helped me over the years are my love of reading and of the natural world. Those things will always be there for you, even if people disappoint you or hurt you.
Last night, "The Maltese Falcon" was on. What a great movie! It's so grown up and sophisticated and film noire. I love the scenes with Mary Astor and Humphrey Bogart trying to outwit each other and Peter Lorie is always so enjoyable to watch.
See you all on Monday.
Saturday 1 June 2013
Two Tom Hanks movies:
There are two movies with Tom Hanks in them on tv tonight. The first one is "Big". It is an excellent performance by Tom Hanks (one of his best in my opinion, not having seen "Forest Gump"). He plays a child trapped in a man's body. Most memorable for me is the "Silly String" scene and the scene at the toy company when he says "I don't get it". Another fine performance in this movie is John Heard, who plays the mean guy who works in the toy company. He often plays the guy who doesn't understand the sensitive person, but he is an excellent actor and his drunken scene at the party is a textbook performance for someone wanting to play someone who is drunk. His response to the "I don't get it" scene is outstanding.
The other Tom Hanks offering is "Saving Private Ryan". I liked this movie until the end. It seems to be saying all along that war is senseless and that good people die and bad people survive and there is no justice when people resort to these violent actions, but then at the end of the movie, there is that rousing music and the American flag flying. It seemed to fly in the face of the rest of the movie and I was horribly disappointed in it. I have only seen it once, because I cannot get that last jingoistic scene out of my head.
What do you think?
There are two movies with Tom Hanks in them on tv tonight. The first one is "Big". It is an excellent performance by Tom Hanks (one of his best in my opinion, not having seen "Forest Gump"). He plays a child trapped in a man's body. Most memorable for me is the "Silly String" scene and the scene at the toy company when he says "I don't get it". Another fine performance in this movie is John Heard, who plays the mean guy who works in the toy company. He often plays the guy who doesn't understand the sensitive person, but he is an excellent actor and his drunken scene at the party is a textbook performance for someone wanting to play someone who is drunk. His response to the "I don't get it" scene is outstanding.
The other Tom Hanks offering is "Saving Private Ryan". I liked this movie until the end. It seems to be saying all along that war is senseless and that good people die and bad people survive and there is no justice when people resort to these violent actions, but then at the end of the movie, there is that rousing music and the American flag flying. It seemed to fly in the face of the rest of the movie and I was horribly disappointed in it. I have only seen it once, because I cannot get that last jingoistic scene out of my head.
What do you think?
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